Scott Patterson’s Controversial Gilmore Girls Opinions on ‘I Am All In’ Podcast

Listening to Scott Patterson’s Gilmore Girls rewatch podcast is fun, but the actor has some incredibly controversial opinions about the show. After playing cynical diner owner and Lorelai’s (Lauren Graham) love interest Luke Danes in all seven seasons, plus the Netflix revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Patterson started his iHeart radio podcast, I Am All In with Scott Patterson, in 2021.

Gilmore Girls fans live with some harsh realities when looking back on the hit WB/CW drama, whether it’s at Lane Kim (Keiko Agena) not getting the proper ending she should, or the fact that Lorelai and Rory (Alexis Bledel) can be incredibly mean.

But while fans tend to agree on certain aspects of the series that don’t work or could have been improved, Patterson has several beliefs that don’t make much sense.

Scott Patterson Thinks Rory Should Have Stayed In High School Past Season 3

The best coming-of-age shows transition well from the awkward and intense hallways of a high school to a college campus. But while many of us love watching Rory attend Yale (although, of course, we know she makes more than a few mistakes there), Scott Patterson thinks Gilmore Girls should have focused on Rory’s high school years past season 3.

This isn’t what most fans think, as the Yale years are some of the most important on the show. This is where Rory leaves her cozy Stars Hollow bubble, makes new friends, and becomes more resilient.

Yale is also where Rory meets Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry), her third big love interest. It’s strange to imagine Logan not being a part of Gilmore Girls, as he’s a crucial part of Rory’s journey.

Perhaps even more importantly, this is also where Rory and sweet but tough Paris Geller (Liza Weil) bond. While Patterson said that it’s odd for viewers to see a new setting on a show, no one minded, and we all look back fondly on Rory’s time at the Ivy League. Plus, Rory staying in high school for seven years wouldn’t make sense.

Patterson Often Defends Anna Nardini

Many of us still cringe when Luke’s daughter April Nardini (Vanessa Marano) is introduced in Gilmore Girls season 6 because she inadvertently drives a wedge between Luke and Lorelai. It’s tough to agree with how secretive and stubborn Luke becomes about his relationship with April and how much he pushes Lorelai away.

That’s why it’s so perplexing that Patterson has such positive things to say about April’s mom, Anna (Sherilyn Fenn). Considered one of the least well-developed and most confusing characters on the show, Anna makes awful decisions about her daughter, mainly the fact that she doesn’t support Lorelai wanting to connect with April.

But Anna’s worst choice is planning a move to New Mexico, which would mean Luke and April rarely see each other. It’s hard to understand why Patterson would support anything Anna says or does.

Patterson Thinks Clara Is A Great Character

Patterson also mentioned that Dean Forester’s (Jared Padalecki) younger sister, Clara (Scout Taylor-Compton), is a great part of season 3, episode 10, “That’ll Do, Pig.” That’s definitely not an opinion that Gilmore Girls fans widely share.

Stars Hollow is a comforting, dreamy place filled with offbeat people like bubbly, ditzy Babette (Sally Struthers) and her tall, silent, and kind-hearted husband Morey (Ted Rooney). When most of us look back on the townspeople, we might struggle to remember any fun, entertaining, or important scenes with Clara.

While “That’ll Do, Pig” is fun because it features a winter carnival in Stars Hollow, Clara isn’t a significant factor at all. If anything, Rory is so awkward around Dean’s sibling and has so much trouble talking to her that it’s hard to want to watch any of these scenes again.

Patterson Was Fine With Dean’s Aggression Toward Jess

Whether you’re Team Jess, Dean, or Logan, you can likely agree that Dean is a sweet character who doesn’t have an aggressive bone in his body. It’s odd when he becomes so angry with and jealous of Jess that he even starts a fight in the season 3 episode “Keg! Max!”

Although most share the opinion that Dean is in the wrong here and this storyline hasn’t held up well, Patterson praised Dean during his post-breakup period on his I Am All In podcast. Before the party scene, Dean is the mature, if naive and innocent, one, and Jess is the rebel who hates authority and doesn’t listen to adults.

But during this rough moment, Dean becomes a different person, and it’s one of the most frustrating parts of his character arc. It’s fun to watch the Dean/Rory/Jess love triangle because they’re both compelling love interests, but there’s nothing enjoyable about this argument.

Patterson Didn’t Like The Christopher/Lorelai/Emily Fight In “Haunted Leg”

A major fan-favorite Gilmore Girls episode is season 3, episode 2, “Haunted Leg,” in which tension between Lorelai and Emily boils over following the former’s failed reconciliation with Christopher. However, Patterson had almost nothing but harsh words for it.

Patterson is irked with “Haunted Leg” right from the first scene, in which Lorelai is begrudgingly attending a Friday Night Dinner after being mistreated and judged by Emily in the last episode. While he’s correct that Lorelai absolutely should not have to put up with that treatment, Patterson’s notion that Lorelai should tell Emily to pull Rory out of Chilton and stop Friday Night Dinners undermines the premise of the entire show.

Things get really heated on the podcast when they get to the final argument between Lorelai and Christopher. Patterson dismissed it as soap operatic and like a “reality show,” while his co-hosts expressed that they shed tears over the anguish and hurt Lorelai showed.

Emily kicking Christopher out was, by and large, considered one of her best moments in the entirety of Gilmore Girls, as it was one of the only times she took Lorelai’s side. While fans don’t want “melodrama” and prefer the light tone of the show, this heavier scene definitely felt earned, and Patterson is in the minority here.

Patterson Thought Lorelai Was Mad About Rory Stealing The Yacht Because She Was Jealous

One of the most unpopular Gilmore Girls storylines is when Rory steals a yacht in season 5, “A House Is Not A Home.” It makes sense that Lorelai is upset and angry with Rory because Lorelai worked so hard to give Rory a great life and encouraged her to attend Chilton and Yale.

Patterson mentioned on his I Am All In podcast that Lorelai feels so strongly about this situation because she’s envious of her daughter. This is a poor take and there isn’t any evidence from the show to back it up. Lorelai and Rory are so close because they have so much in common and care about each other so much.

While they have their challenges and stop speaking in Gilmore Girls season 6, their relationship remains solid, and it’s anything but toxic. Of course, Lorelai would be worried about Rory’s future, especially when Rory says she’s temporarily dropping out of Yale. Fans don’t understand why Rory made this decision, and it remains one of the strangest parts of the show.

Patterson Is Fine With Dean Cheating on Lindsay With Rory

Dean’s marriage to Lindsay Lister (Arielle Kibbel) is an unpopular storyline because of how young they are and the fact that Dean clearly isn’t over Rory. It’s also tough to look back on fondly since Dean cheats on Lindsay with Rory in season 4.

Although most of us hate this storyline and wish that both Dean and Rory had acted differently, Patterson said he was okay with it on his podcast. He said the characters are young and in love, so it’s logical that they would make this decision.

This isn’t how others feel, and it’s hard to support Dean and Rory when they’re both making a choice that hurts someone else. Rory and Dean have graduated from high school at this point and are old enough to know that what they’re doing is wrong.

It’s also confusing that Rory wouldn’t want to move on from her high school boyfriends and make a fresh start in college. There are so many reasons why this plotline doesn’t work, and it’s one of Gilmore Girls‘ most frustrating.

Release Date

2000 – 2007-00-00

Network

The WB

Writers

Amy Sherman-Palladino